The Pain Behind The Mask
by The Dragon Spooker
Summary: Set after Young Ones & And Then There Was Nicholas Gohan's engaged to Videl, he's off to University, what else could go wrong? Little does he know, one of his friends has been crumbling on the inside. Will he believe this friend before its too late?
1. Default Chapter

Untitled For The Moment

The Pain Behind The Mask pt1

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or it's characters. Just the ones I made up. I also do not own anything that I mention that isn't mine.

A/N: Hello there!! This is another story with Gohan and pals. The setting: Orange Star University (I know, it's lame…). The gang are sharing an apartment like dorm. It's kind of like the dorm in USA High or Saved By The Bell: The College Years. (**Breathes**) Oh yeah, remember a long time ago when I said that the timeline wasn't exactly accurate. Well just imagine that the Buu Saga happened two years ahead of schedule. 

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"So, who has the keys?" David asked tiredly.

"Gohan. He was supposed to be here three hours ago!" Andrea said angrily. The two of them had been waiting outside their dorm with their entire luggage from home.

"So, no one else has the keys?" David asked hopefully.

"Natalie…" Andrea replied.

"BUT SHE'S IN SPAIN!!" David yelled as several freshmen stared at him. "Take a picture kids!! It'll last until your dog gets a hold of it! Jerks."

"I'm gonna take a walk outside.See ya in a minute babe." Andrea got up and walked to the front entrance. Out there she saw Gohan and his mother, who was giving a million instructions. Andrea walked towards him.

"And I want you to call me every day no matter what time of the day it is!" Chi-Chi ordered.

"Hai kaasan."

"And eat healthily."

"Hai…"

"And make sure you change your underwear everyday!"

"MOM!"

"And any laundry you want done just fly home and I'll do it for you." Chi-Chi hugged (or strangled…whatever…) her son and planted a big kiss on his cheek. She got in the car and drove off. Goku and Goten waved from the back window of the car. Gohan uneasily waved back.

"I can see you're a little busy." Andrea smirked.

"Hey Andie!" Gohan beamed.

"Hello. Oh and you're forgiven."

"For what?" Gohan asked innocently.

"FOR BEING THREE HOURS LATE!!" Andrea yelled. Gohan just blinked in surprise. "How come you're dad and brother didn't say goodbye?"

"They were ordered to stay in the car." Gohan replied matter-of-factly. Andrea sweat-dropped and the two of them walked back to the dorm.

"Finally Gohan has come back to the dorm room!" David exclaimed as he grabbed the keys from Gohan.

"And hello to you too. Why yes! My summer was brilliant actually!" Gohan sarcastically stated.

"Yeah, I know, I was there. Don't pay much attention, do ya?" David replied as Gohan face-faulted. He opened the door. "Yes!! Home sweet crib!" They looked at the dorm in awe.

"Sweet." Andrea said rubbing her hands together. She quickly ran to both rooms and surveyed them. "Dibs on this room!"

"Aw! That's the bigger one!" Gohan whined.

"That's right Gohan! Tomorrow, I'll teach you why I have the bigger one!" Andrea replied as she threw her bags into the room.

"When are Nicky and Vid getting here?" David asked. As if on cue there was a car horn outside.

"Pretty much now." Gohan replied.

"It's a good thing they didn't have the keys or else we'd be in a whole lot of trouble."

"You're not gonna let me forget this, are you Dave?"

"Hmm…no!"

"Oh boy…" Videl walked in with a big grin and about 15 suitcases.

"Ah! The princess has all her vital equipment." David cracked.

"Very funny." Videl said sticking out her tongue. Nicholas walked in with his luggage but his face was anything but cheerful.

"Hi…" He said disheartened.

"Oh no, he's possessed by 1st season Ross!" David said grabbing his head in mock horror. The others looked at him weirdly. "Man, you guys are no fun. I wish Nat was here…oops." Nicholas' expression saddened tenfold.

"Nice going baka." Andrea said slapping David in the ribs.

"At least we signed up for our classes yesterday. Now all we have to do is move in our stuff."

"Well we better get started. It looks like you girls moved your whole house here!" Gohan laughed holding up one suitcase.

"Gohan. That's your suitcase sweetie." Videl said. Gohan immediately dropped it.

"I knew that. I was just seeing if you knew!" Gohan said rubbing his hand behind his head. The others (minus "Ross") laughed.

About four hours later, the gang were watching TV…

"So, this is the Boy Meets World episode that you had a dream of when me and Videl broke up?" Gohan asked.

"Yep." Nicholas replied. The others looked at the screen in amazement.

"Freak show…" They all uttered.

"I'm hungry." David said. "Moving makes me hungry. I wanna eat."

"Newsflash man, your always hungry." Gohan said tiredly.

"Talk about the kettle calling the pot black. Or something like that…" Videl said. David and Gohan both blushed. The phone started to ring. Everyone looked to Andrea, who was currently filing her nails.

"Why should I get it?" Andrea said.

"Because we did all the hard work. You just moved everything with your telekinesis." Videl said.

"Yeah!" The boys chorused.

"Oh alright…hello?" Andrea said. She suddenly held the phone away from her ear as a loud 'HI!!!!' came from the phone.

"IT'S NATALIE!! QUICK PUT HER ON SPEAKER!!" Nicholas yelled.

"He hasn't been this active in weeks!" David said, shaking his head. "It's like Nat's some sort of vitamin."

"Well that's what happens when you're whipped." Gohan laughed. Videl grabbed his ear.

"What was that?!" Videl snapped.

"Hehe, nothing dear." Gohan said. Andrea put the phone on speaker.

"_HI GUYS!!_" Natalie yelled. There was a lot of background music.

"Hey Nat. How are you sweetheart?" Nicholas asked, grinning like an idiot.

"_Fine, but you shouldn't grin like that babe. Your face might freeze_." Natalie laughed.

"How in the bloody hell does she do that?" Videl muttered.

"_You guys all moved in?_"

"Hai!" They all chorused.

"_Good! I've got some bad news. I can't come home 'till tomorrow instead of tonight. I'm actually quite lucky. My classes start the day after._"

"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?" Nicholas asked frantically.

"_Well my flight was delayed. Sorry._" Natalie said.

"It's a good thing your brother registered you in for school." Gohan commented.

"_Whoop (!) That's really lucky, I'll have to get him back for that."_

"That's okay, it's not like your enjoying yourself…wait a sec. YOU'RE AT A CLUB!!" David suddenly yelled.

"_Am not!!_"

"Are too."

"_AM NOT!!!_"

"ARE TOO!!"

"_AM NOT TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!_"

"Are too!! I can here Shake Your Bon Bon, Buzz!!"

"_That is so stereotypical. It's Bon Jovi…oops. Hehehe. Well guys, I gots to go! Adios!_" She hung up.

"Great. We start school tomorrow and my girl isn't even here." Nicholas brooded. The phone rang again. Gohan put it on speaker.

"_Don't brood!!_" Natalie said and hung up the phone again.

"Freak show…" They all uttered.

"Hey, do you guys here that?" Gohan asked. The others shook their heads. Suddenly, a group of four cheerleaders burst into the room yelling and hooting.

"You know, I thought we escaped this when we graduated high school." Andrea muttered. The cheerleaders got into a formation and started to chant.

"Fast like a cheetah, quick like a louse, Bradley Kido is in the house!! WOO!!" The cheerleaders chanted as a tall, lean, blue haired guy walked in with a pair of shades and a girl on each arm.

"Ah! So these are the new freshmen!! Scribe, take notes." Bradley ordered as a small boy with glasses appeared at his side. "There is a blonde wimpy boy, a dark haired brooding boy, a nerdy boy, a brown haired babe and a dark haired babe. Put a star next to the last one." A vein was throbbing in the heads of David and Videl. David stood up.

"Who in the blue hell are you?" David asked angrily.

"Change 'wimpy' to 'mouthy'. I am Bradley Kido. The most popular kid at this university and it is my duty to survey the new kids and stick them with labels."

"You can't just label us if you don't know us!" Videl yelled. Bradley walked up to her, took her hand and kissed it.

"You are very beautiful when you are angry mademoiselle." Bradley winked. Gohan walked up to him.

"Excuse me Kido, but you've got your hands on my fiancée." Gohan said icily. Bradley's face became overcome with shock but he quickly got over it.

"Take the star off scribe." Bradley said, as he looked Gohan in the eye. "See you around campus bud." They took off leaving a dazed bunch of people.

"That was like something out of the World Wrestling Federation." Nicholas muttered.

"Let's go to bed." Videl said. "In our new _bigger_ room. Mwaha."

"Don't rub it in!" The boys groaned.

The next morning…

Gohan was sleeping quite peacefully and snoring quite loudly. That is, until he heard a…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGG!!!! GOD DAMN SON OF A BITCH!!" 

"Huh? Wha' happa'?" Gohan asked sleepily. He looked over to David who was still sleeping. "That guy could sleep through World War Three." Gohan shook his head and then got up to see what all the commotion was about. He walked into the living room/kitchen and saw Nicholas standing there soaked.

"Don't laugh, not even one chuckle." Nicholas warned.

"Dude, if you wanted to take a shower you could've just asked. The bathroom is that way." Gohan smirked. He looked at the door and there was a note on the door. "There's your morning wake up call, courtesy of BK."

"You mean Kido did this?!" Nicholas yelled.

"Looks like it. I think it was meant for me." Gohan said.

"How do you know that?"

"It says it right here. This is meant for the nerdy boy with the hot girl."

"I see."

"Well, it's time for us to get ready for class anyway. What have we got?"

"Well, you me and Andie have Psych 101, but first!" Nicholas said diving into a closet and pulled out two massive water guns. "Payback!"

"Woah!! Where did you get those bad boys?"

"First of all, never say bad boys to me again. Very creepy. These are the water guns that won me and Videl the water wars of middle school."

"Wow."

"Yeah, but it turned kinda ugly when we hit Natalie's brother Tony."

_FLASHBACK…_

"Run Videl!!" A 12-year-old Nicholas panted.

"I'm running! But I don't see how he can run that fast! His pants are so big!" A 12-year-old Videl replied.

"I'M GONNA GET YOU, YOU LITTLE PUNKS!!" Tony yelled as he ran after them.

"Tony!! It's dinner time!" Tony's father yelled. Tony stopped in his tracks and turned heel. Nicholas and Videl fell to the ground panting hard. They looked up to see a 12-year-old Natalie with her arms folded smirking.

"You guys owe me big time." Natalie replied.

_END FLASHBACK…_

"It was when I got my crush on her ironically." Nicholas reminisced as the two boys finished filling the water guns.

"You are a very complex man. Let's go kick some upper class butt!" Gohan said running out of the dorm.

"I don't think you're allowed to say butt either." Nicholas yelled as he ran after him.

_Later that day in Psych 101…_

"I remember a student from my previous school asking me 'should you forgive someone if they've wronged you in the past?'. Now that is a very complex question. What if they've committed a crime against you or abandoned you? How can you measure it out? It usually all depends on the situation. But what I can say is that if the person is family, it is usually best to sort things out rather than to dismiss the problem away. The easiest way out isn't necessarily the best way. I'll leave you to think about that, class dismissed." Ms Kinaki finished as the class left. She flipped her long jet-black hair over her shoulder and walked out of the class.

"Wow, she is a really great teacher." Gohan commented.

"I agree. Some of that stuff she said was really deep, how about you Nick? Nicky?" Andrea tried to get Nicholas' attention.

"I'm sorry. Have you ever had that sense of overwhelming doom?" Nicholas asked. As if on cue, Gohan and Andrea were bombarded with water balloons filled with different colours of paint. Nicholas had fallen out of harms way as the other two fell to the ground.

"ARG!" Andrea yelled at the top of her lungs. Bradley and his whole squad stood above the three of them.

"That's what happens to people who don't respect my authoritah." Bradley smirked.

"Oh really? And since when was it okay for you to steal other people's catchphrases?" A voice called from the back of them. Everyone turned around to see Natalie standing there with Videl and David. Bradley became enraged and walked towards them.

"Listen you, I don't know who you are and quite frankly I don't have time for you." Bradley seethed. "So go away."

"Wow! I can't believe he talked to us like that. Doesn't he know who we are?" Videl asked mockingly.

"Who are you?" Bradley asked.

"Her friends." David said indicating Natalie. "So are they."

"So? I can beat her as well." Bradley replied smugly.

"Oh my! I feel so frightened! Maybe I should tell my big brothers Ricky and Tony that you're picking on their baby sister, Bradley." Natalie said sarcastically. All of Bradley's crew gasped in fear as Bradley swallowed hard.

"Y-y-y-y-y-you mean you are related to Los Hermanos Cevallos?" Bradley quavered.

"Yes. That's about right." Natalie replied.

"And my brother Paulie." David smirked.

"Paulie the undertaker?!" Bradley squeaked.

"That's right." David smiled evilly.

"Your brothers can't protect you forever you know. I can still try to make your life here a living hell." Bradley said as he walked away.

"We'll see about that." Natalie said walking over to her paint soaked friends and Nicholas. "You guys owe me big time." Nicholas swooped her into his arms and kissed her.

"Eh?" Andrea asked.

"It's a long story…" Gohan replied. "We'd better get cleaned up."

"Why? You look like all the colours of the rainbow!" David laughed as Gohan and Andrea narrowed their eyes at him.

_After they were cleaned up…_

"Their brothers used to attend this school. Tony and Paul were best friends. But all three of them had their own reputations." Videl explained. Gohan and Andrea nodded.

"But what he mean when he said 'Los Hermanos Cevallos'?" Andrea asked.

"My grandfather was wanted for armed robbery in Mexico when he was married to my grandmother. They skipped the country and came here, changing their name from Cevallos to Campbell. He said something about owing it all to a can of soup…" Natalie replied.

"Oh!" Gohan said. "Well then I don't have to worry about getting in a fight with that guy. Your brothers' rep will keep him away. He is so annoying."

"He was a little wimp before. No one took him seriously." David laughed. "I got the munchies, anyone wanna go to the corner store?"

"I'll go." Nicholas said as they both exited. They walked to the front of the building and ran into Ms Kinaki. David stood there in front of her with his eyes wide and his mouth open.

"Hello Mr Summers!" Ms Kinaki greeted.

"Hey Ms K. This slacked jawed yokel is my friend David…" Nicholas said as David covered his mouth and laughed nervously.

"Just David, you know, like Cher or Madonna." David nodded. "We gotta go! Buh bye!" He dragged Nicholas by the arm and ran for at least ¼ of a mile before stopping.

"Do you want to tell me what that was about or do I have to phone a friend?" Nicholas demanded.

"You mean to tell me you don't know who that is?!" David asked frantically.

"My psychology teacher?" Nicholas asked. David bopped him on the head. "OW! What was that for?!"

"For being a smart alec!! I can't believe you don't know who that is!" David hissed. Nicholas went wide-eyed in realisation.

"No way." Nicholas said in awe.

"Way!" David replied.

"What are we gonna tell…?"

"Nothing."

"What are you, new? You know what she's like when we keep something from her."

"But you don't what it's like when you mention that woman. Remember, you two weren't as close back then. Just trust me on this one." David said.

"Fine, I'll trust you. But I don't have to like it." Nicholas sighed.

To be continued…

Dun, dun, duuun!! What a way to end the 1st chapter, ne? Leave a review, the more I get the quicker I write.


	2. A Shocking Discovery

The Pain Behind The Mask pt2

The Pain Behind The Mask pt2

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or it's characters. Just the ones I made up. I also do not own anything that I mention that isn't mine.

A/N: I'm sorry you guys but cliffhangers are a hobby of mine. Believe me, it gets worse :P Anyhoo, enjoy the story!

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For the last month, Nicholas and David were avoiding the gang like Homer Simpson avoids low fat food. It wasn't that much of a task anyway since the rest of the guys were too busy studying and Natalie had been given a Playstation 2 by her oldest brother Ricky and was hooked on the game 'Crash Bandicoot'. They quietly woke up and crept pass Gohan. Quickly getting changed and grabbing an apple each, they tried to duck out of the dorm. They tried and they failed.

"Where on Earth do you think you're going?" Videl said standing behind them. "Every morning you have been leaving early and coming home late. You've been avoiding us like humans avoid the plague! Or like Natalie avoids real life at the moment." They all looked over to Natalie who had been on the games console all night.

"Does she even go to class?" David asked.

"If you were around I wouldn't have to answer that, would I?" Videl scolded.

"Well, does she?" Nicholas asked.

"Yes she does. If she didn't have Ricky's grades to live up to then I don't think she would." Videl said. "I want to ask you one thing boys." The boys both gulped. "Since today is Saturday I want you two to DO THE HOUSEWORK THAT THE FOUR OF US HAVE BEEN DOING!!!"

"Is that all?" David asked as Nicholas elbowed him.

"The whole dorm." Videl said folding her arms.

"Even your bedroom?" David asked, smiling.

"No!" Videl said slapping him upside the head. "Hentai." She walked away.

"Well, we'd better get to work." Nicholas said rolling up his sleeves. "Do you want anything while we're up Nat?" Natalie mumbled something incoherent as the two of them shook their heads.

_Later that afternoon…_

"I'm exhausted!" David panted as the two boys collapsed on the couch.

"I think I'm too tired to be exhausted." Nicholas moaned. "And she still hasn't got up from that video game."

"Are you two tired already?" Andrea asked with her hands on her hips. Videl stood beside her with a similar pose.

"Please! No more!" David begged.

"We just want some quiet relaxation." Nicholas said.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!! WHO'S DA GIRL?!" Natalie celebrated doing a little jig.

"So much for quiet relaxation…" Nicholas muttered.

"I finished the game!! All 32 levels!! Nothing could bring me down!! I'm on cloud 9 baby!" Natalie beamed.

"Wanna bet?" David muttered. Suddenly, Natalie stopped celebrating and turned on them with narrowed eyes.

"You two are hiding something, aren't you?" Natalie asked.

"No ma'am." They both replied. She still started at them in the same way.

"I'm keeping my eyes on you boys." Natalie warned. Gohan came in with a depressed look on his face.

"What's the matter Gohan?" Andrea asked. Gohan sighed heavily.

"My brother Goten and his best friend Trunks are coming to visit today." Gohan said.

"And that's a problem?" Nicholas asked.

"It shouldn't be. I wish my little brother would come visit me." Natalie pouted.

"Besides, they're so sweet!" Andrea said.

"You don't know them Andie." Gohan sighed.

"Well, the upperclassmen are playing soccer later this afternoon. We can take them to go watch." Videl said.

"Great idea! That should keep them busy." Gohan smiled.

"Oh yeah Nick, I meant to ask you, where is my file-n-fax thingy? I need it back for my maths class." Videl said. Nicholas opened his eyes wide and dashed out of the room. A huge vein started throbbing on the back of Videl's hand as she shook it menacingly. "COME BACK HERE SUMMERS!!!" She yelled as she ran after him.

"Oy vey." The others said shaking their heads. Videl chased him until she reached the psychology wing of the university. Nicholas ran into one room and went to a chair, finding the file-n-fax.

"Thank goodness." Nicholas sighed.

"Did you find what you burst into my classroom to look for Mr Summers?" Ms Kinaki asked. Nicholas turned around pale-faced and nodded stupidly. Videl ran in after him and came to a screeching halt when she saw Ms Kinaki and hung her mouth open. 

"Woah!" Videl exclaimed.

"What's the matter with your friend?" Ms Kinaki asked.

"She's just…um…freaked out! You know! On account of seeing a teacher in school on a Saturday. Hehe." Nicholas said nervously grabbing Videl and speeding out of the classroom. Once they were a safe distance away Videl escaped from Nicholas' grasp and started to smack him on the arm.

"Do you know who that is???!" Videl angrily yelled.

"Yes! But not at first!" Nicholas winced as Videl hit him again.

"What do you mean…oh yeah, you and Nat weren't that close back then."

"I really wish you guys would stop saying that."

"Have you told her?"

"No, Finch said not to. Why do you think we've been avoiding her all this time?"

"Well, Dave does know her best."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing! Geez, Nick!"

"Gomen."

"I hope this is the right thing to do."

"You mean, you won't tell her?"

"No I won't. But if this comes out I know nothing, got it? She may be small but she can throw one hell of a punch."

"Okay."

"Wait a sec, did you say 'on account of'?"

"Yeah…"

"Freak show…"

_Back at the dorm…_

"Onii-chan!" Goten exclaimed as he ran out and hugged his brother.

"Hey Goten, Trunks! How are you two?"

"Great!" The two exclaimed.

"Awwww!" Andrea and Natalie squealed.

"Hello Natalie-san!" Goten waved.

"You two have met?" Trunks asked.

"We go way back." Goten replied.

"So, how's you're new school going guys?" Gohan asked. (It's another thing I'm working on…forgedaboudit!!)

"Boring. But we made some new friends!" Goten chirped.

"It must be boring knowing you can't be yourselves there, huh?" Natalie asked.

"Nani?!" Trunks and Goten asked but Natalie just smiled.

"How would you guys like to go watch a soccer game?" Andrea asked.

"Can't we play soccer instead?" Trunks asked.

"No!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Aw…" The two boys sighed.

"Tell you what, we can go watch the game and make fun of them. How's that?" Natalie asked.

"Cool!" They exclaimed running out and taking Natalie with them.

"Oh boy…" The others sighed.

_About 10 minutes into the game…_

"I can't believe you guys had the guts to do that…" Gohan half laughed.

"Well I say kudos!" David smiled.

"Who knew a couple of kids could beat the whole senior soccer team?" Andrea laughed as Goten and Trunks beamed.

"Why don't you guys get something to eat?" Gohan said, fishing out a few notes. Trunks looked at the money.

"With our appetites?" Trunks asked as the older kids laughed. Gohan sheepishly fished out a few more notes and the boys ran off dragging Natalie with them. Nicholas and Videl came back.

"Hey! Where were you guys? You missed the seniors getting a can of whoop ass!" David beamed. Videl said nothing and grabbed David by the ear as Gohan and Andrea sweat dropped.

"We need to talk Finch. We'll be back later guys." Videl said in an almost monotonous voice. She dragged him off.

"Note to self, less Gundam Wing for Videl." Gohan said, shaking his head. The others came back with the food.

"Woah, there's been a change in line up." Natalie commented. "Where's David?"

"He was dragged off by Videl." Gohan replied.

"Literally." Nicholas added. "Hey there kids!"

"Hello." They both uttered.

"Nick, this is my little brother Goten and his friend Trunks. Guys, this is Nick." Gohan introduced them.

"Dude! I have the most brilliant idea! You know those hills near the campus?" Nicholas exclaimed. Andrea and Gohan nodded.

"Oh! I totally get it!! Be right back!!" Natalie said dashing off.

"Should I be scared or worried?" Andrea asked.

"Both." Gohan replied.

"I always wondered what okaasan meant when she said add a lessons is a weird time to go through. Now I know what she meant." Goten said.

"You mean adolescence Goten." Gohan corrected.

"Sure, sure, what did I say?" Goten asked.

"Never mind…"

_Back at the dorm…_

"We should tell her you know. She'll be so upset if she finds out we knew." Videl reasoned.

"But you know what she's like! This woman is like her childhood enemy for Pete's sake! She'll go Ricky Ricardo on us!"

"I don't like it David."

"Neither do I…but what choice do we have?"

_At the hills near campus…_

"Are you sure this is safe?" Gohan asked.

"Yes!" Natalie replied.

"Are you sure this is legal?" Andrea asked.

"Yep!" Nicholas replied.

"This is so cool!" Trunks exclaimed. Trunks was tied onto Nicholas' back with an extra large shirt as was Goten to Natalie. Nicholas and Natalie were perched onto a skateboard with a long pole for direction purposes. They stood at the top of a very steep hill.

"We used to do this all the time when we were kids!" Natalie exclaimed. "Don't be such a wet blanket Gohan!"

"I am not wet nor a blanket Natalie!" Gohan retorted.

"Everybody goggles on!" Nicholas said as the four of them put on the goggles. "Now, can you boys swim?"

"Hai!" They replied.

"Excellent!" Nicholas said in the manner of Bill and Ted, which made Trunks and Goten laugh.

"3,2,1…BLAST OFF!" Natalie shouted as they sped down the hill. When they came to the end, they jumped off and went soaring into the sky, landing in the lake afterwards.

"That was so cool!" Goten exclaimed jumping out of the water.

"Let's get back to the dorm so we can dry off." Nicholas said.

_About an hour later…_

"Well, now the kids are home and I can relax with my girlfriend." Gohan said putting his arm around Videl and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"And us." Andrea put in.

"Yeah…I'll have to fix that…" Gohan said as the others laughed. 

"I sometimes feel envious of Nick and Nat. You guys are so good with kids. You guys'll be great parents someday." Andrea sighed.

"Yeah, it sometimes takes the mind of a child to get on with one." David whispered.

"I HEARD THAT!" Natalie yelled as David swallowed in fear. Nicholas kept flippin through the channels as he hit an oldies music channel, which was playing Michael Jackson's 'Don't Stop Till You Get Enough'. Nicholas and David promptly started laughing uncontrollably.

"What's the matter with them?" Videl asked.

"Three words: Rush Hour 2." Andrea replied. (If you've seen it, you'll know what I'm talkin about!)

"Huh?" Gohan asked.

"Don't ask. I'm gonna get a can of soda. Anyone want anything?" Natalie asked, just as everyone was about to open their mouth she hastily added. "Didn't think so." There was a knock at the door.

"I got it." Andrea said as she opened the door. "Come on in!" Everyone looked over and saw Ms Kinaki.

"Hey Ms Kinaki!" Gohan waved.

"Kuso!!" Videl, Nicholas and David all hissed as they pathetically tried to hide. Ms Kinaki raised an eyebrow as she handed Nicholas the file-n-fax.

"You forgot this."

"Oh…I did? Hehe." Nicholas laughed sheepishly. Natalie came back, looked at Ms Kinaki and her face paled.

"Natalie?" Gohan asked. Natalie's face grew with rage and her fist shook at her sides.

"You! What the hell are you doing here?" Natalie demanded.

"Natalie! How do you know Ms Kinaki?" Andrea asked.

"Kinaki! Is that what you're calling yourself these days?! Was the Queen of All Evil too much of a title for you?!" Natalie shouted.

"Nat, calm down!" Gohan said.

"Hello Natalia." Ms Kinaki greeted.

"Don't you dare call me that! I asked you a question Hikari, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Listen Natalie, I don't know what kind of a beef you've had with this teacher in the past but please calm down! What could she have possibly done to upset you this much?" Gohan asked.

"She's my, for lack of a better word, mother." Natalie seethed.

To Be Continued…

C'mon! You knew I was gonna do that!! Stay tuned for the next part!


	3. When The Ones You Call Your Friends Are ...

The Pain Behind The Mask pt3

The Pain Behind The Mask pt3

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or it's characters. Just the ones I made up. I also do not own anything that I mention that isn't mine.

A/N: Okay, don't kill me if Gohan and the others seem a bit mean in this chapter but there is a reason ok? Good!

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"Kami-sama…" Gohan uttered. "She looks nothing like you."

"Thank goodness." Natalie said. 

"Don't be like that!" Hikari said.

"I can be whatever I want to be like! You can't tell me what to do! You lost the right to do that years ago." Natalie yelled as she stormed off. Hikari went after her.

"Oh man, she's gonna kill her if we don't go as well." David said as he and Nicholas got up. The others soon followed.

"Natalie, wait!" Hikari yelled.

"No chance in hell." Natalie shouted back. Hikari ran up in front of her and blocked her path.

"We have to talk." Hikari said. The others caught up with them and stood to the side.

"Okay, what shall we talk about?! About how you abandoned my family and left Papa to raise four kids on his own?! About how you never even contacted us?! Would a phone call kill you?!" Natalie shouted.

"Look we all make mistakes…I'm only human!"

"That's where you're wrong!! You're not human!! You're the evil incarnate of Alexis Carrington!" Natalie yelled. "We have absolutely nothing to talk about!" (Cookie points to whoever can tell me who Alexis Carrington is!!)

"We're going to have to sometime!! I work here as a psychology professor!"

"What did you do to your resume?! Add 'logy' to the word psycho!! Coz that's what you are!! A freakin' psycho maniac who shed her responsibilities for a man in tight pants called Miguel!!"

"How dare you talk to me like that? I'm your m…"

"Onna, say that word and I will chop your head off!" Natalie seethed. David stepped in and carried Natalie over his shoulder.

"She's a little high strung." David commented.

"PUT ME DOWN OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS DAVID FINCH!!" Natalie asked.

"Of course! David and Videl! How are you?" Hikari asked. The rest of the gang just walked away.

"Just give her a little time." Gohan said as he ran after his friends. They got back to the dorm room with Natalie screaming and kicking all the way there.

"Give her a little time he says. PUT ME DOWN NOW!!!" Natalie yelled.

"Okay." David said. The minute he put her down she tried to run out of the door but Nicholas grabbed her and sat her on his lap as she struggled to get away.

"And where do you think you're going?" Nicholas asked.

"To kick her ass." Natalie replied.

"How? When you can't even get out of my reach." Nicholas commented. She stopped.

"Touché." Natalie replied. "Videl, can you hand me the telephone?"

"I don't think you should be…" Videl tried to reason.

"CHICA!! EL TELÉFONO!! AQUÍ, AHORA!!" Natalie yelled. Videl came back in a flash with the telephone.

"Who are you calling?" Gohan asked.

"My brothers and dad." Natalie replied. Gohan took the phone from her.

"Nuh uh, miss 'I've had way too much sugar today'. Not until we talk." Gohan said folding his arms. "You told me your parents were divorced."

"They are, Mr 'give her a little time'."

"You just said she abandoned you."

"Yeah…they still got divorced though." Natalie replied.

"Nat, I know this may be hard for you but maybe you should try to forgive her. I mean, push come to shove she's still your mother." Gohan reasoned.

"No chance in hell dude. Technically, under some law that I will someday abolish, she may be my mother but that doesn't mean she deserves that title. She can't just leave and then come back when all the hard work of raising kids is over and expect it to be all sunshine and butterflies!" Natalie snapped.

"You shouldn't run away from your problems! You should try and face them head on instead of taking the easy way out!" Gohan yelled.

"NO! Look, you wouldn't understand Gohan! Your parents are married! Your mother loves you and is so proud of you! Mine couldn't give a monkey's ass!"

"Maybe you two should calm down!" Nicholas said stepping in between the two of them.

"No! I want to know why she is behaving like such a child!" Gohan yelled.

"Well I want to know why you are defending her so much!!" Natalie retorted. "You don't even know her!"

"From what I've seen of her she seems like such a decent person and I don't understand why you can't give her a second chance!"

"There are some people in the world who don't deserve a second chance." Natalie replied.

"What on Earth did she do to you that was so horrible?" Gohan demanded. Natalie fell silent as her face wore a pained expression. "I knew it! You're just being a dramatic baby like always! You're blowing this whole thing way out of proportion just because you can't grow up." Natalie balled up her fist and punched Gohan square in the nose. She slammed herself into her room and flopped her self on her bed.

"Gohan, don't you think that was a bit…harsh?" Andrea asked. "She seemed really upset about it."

"Maybe I was. But she needs to grow up. I still don't understand how she could punch me that hard." Gohan stated as he flopped down on the sofa, grabbing his nose in pain. Gohan looked at his hand. "Dude! How'd she get the telephone out of my hand?!"

"An angered mind can do things that a calm mind cannot." David said as everyone looked at him in awe. "What? I can have my moments!"

Later that evening… 

Andrea wondered the halls of the campus. Natalie had long since left the dorm and had been gone for almost three hours. Gohan was still trying to figure out why he and Natalie had fought. Andrea had volunteered to go and look for her. As she turned into the music wing of the university, she heard a melody being played on a piano. Curiosity got the better of her and she followed the music. As luck would have it, Natalie was the one playing. Andrea knocked on the door. Natalie stopped playing and looked up.

"Oh, hi Andie." Natalie uttered shyly. Andrea sat beside her.

"How are you doing?" Andrea asked, concerned.

"Okay I guess. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. It's just…" Natalie heaved a big sigh. She started playing again. "Sorry, playing just calms me down. My grandma always used to play it for me."

"Used to?"

"She died when I was younger."

"Oh. I didn't know you liked Mozart." Andrea said.

"It's a secret." Natalie smirked. "I can also play Charlie Brown." Sure enough, she started to play the Charlie Brown theme tune. "I love that show."

"Nat, why are you so angry about you mom?" Andrea asked. 

"It's just…that I can usually tell if a person's intentions are good or not. I don't believe that she came here to see us and check how we are doing. Maybe it's a little cynical but I don't trust her." Natalie said. "I believe that there are two kinds of evil. People who are influenced to be evil and then there are the people who choose to be evil. You can't forgive someone who chose to be evil."

"So, you think your mom chose to be evil?" Andrea asked.

"I think so. I also believe that people like that cannot change. When we were kids she was always so mean to us. I had no idea why."

"I don't know Natalie. She still is your mother." Andrea pointed out.

"I'm sorry Andie, but I just can't trust her. I have a feeling in my gut that I shouldn't and I've always been taught to do what I feel is right." Natalie replied. Andrea sighed.

"Even if she is 'evil' like you say she is, are you even sure that she has any powers? If there is a one in a million possibility that she has, what can you do about it? You got the sleeping power, remember? You didn't train to control them over the summer like we did." Natalie just kept on playing.

The next morning… 

Gohan woke up with a funny feeling in his stomach. He then remembered the fight with Natalie.

"Nnnng. I better go and apologise to her." Gohan said. He opened the door to the boys' room and noticed that everyone else was already up except Natalie. He face-faulted. "What time is it?"

"10:30 dude." David replied.

"Where's Nat?" Gohan asked.

"In our room. She refuses to come out. She didn't call her family because she didn't know what to tell them." Videl whispered to him. "I didn't want to say anything but she was tossing and turning all night, like she was having a nightmare or something."

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Gohan said as he knocked on the door.

"Dude, I think she's had enough." Andrea warned.

"Who is it?" Natalie asked.

"Gohan."

"Oh. GO AWAY TONTO."

"Ooh, she's mad at you!" David laughed.

"Why? What did she call him?" Nicholas asked. David whispered it to him and Nicholas whistled. "Wow…"

"Nat, we need to talk." Gohan said. Natalie opened the door and stood there with her arms folded.

"What?" Natalie curtly asked.

"Look, I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to jump down your throat. But I think you know why I was so mad." Gohan said.

"You know, he almost made it there." Nicholas commented.

"Oh really? I know why _you_ were mad_._" Natalie asked.

"Yeah."

"So, are you expecting me to apologise?" Natalie asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Say no!" Nicholas hissed.

"Yeah." Gohan said.

"Oy vey…" Nicholas sighed.

"Fine." Natalie said. "I apologise for shouting at you, heck I even apologise for punching your nose but I will not apologise for my actions last night to _her._"

"_Her_ is your mother."

"I am not going to apologise for what I did to her because I don't believe what I did was wrong! She deserved a hell of a lot more than what I did to her and she might as well be thankful that I got there before my brothers did."

"You are hopeless you know that…"

"Look Gohan, I know you mean well but there are some things that you just cannot forgive. Now, are we cool or what?"

"Okay then, we're cool." Gohan replied as they embraced.

"Awwwwwwwww!" The others cooed.

_A week later…_

The gang were watching TV when Natalie came storming in through the door.

"GRRR!" She shrieked.

"Sweetie, what's the matter?" Nicholas asked.

"I can't even go anywhere now without seeing Hikari! I wanna join the girls soccer team and she's the supervisor! I wanna go to the library to study! There she is again! I wanna eat in the cafeteria…" Natalie huffed.

"You wanted to eat in the cafeteria?!" David exclaimed.

"You see how desperate I am! I can't even go on the Ski holiday in December because guess who's the chaperone?!" Natalie exclaimed.

"Santa?" Andrea asked.

"Thanks for the comic relief Andie." Natalie said as she breathed in.

"This is really getting you worked up." Nicholas said as he massaged her shoulders. Natalie smiled.

"I love you." Natalie said.

"I love you too sweetheart." Nicholas replied.

"Yarg!" David pretended to puke as they both gave him the evil eye. There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Natalie said. She opened the door and Natalie's two extremely tall brothers walked in.

"DOG PILE ON LIL NAT!!" The two boys yelled as they jumped on top of their sister. The others sweat-dropped.

"MMM!! GER OFFA MEE!!" Natalie's muffled shouts came from the floor. They got off her. "And don't you dare call me lil again!" She said pointing to Charlie.

"Lo siento…" Charlie said sheepishly.

"Where's the stuff you wanted us to move?" Tony asked.

"Move?!" Everyone else exclaimed.

"Oh boy." Natalie sighed. "You are such a big mouth!"

"What do you mean 'move'? Where are you going?" Nicholas exclaimed.

"Home. I'm gonna live there for a while." Natalie replied as Charlie and Tony came back out of the girls' room with a box each.

"Why?! Just because your mom is working here?" Videl asked. Charlie and Tony dropped the boxes.

"Mom?!" They both exclaimed.

"Oh boy." Natalie sighed. "Again with the big mouthingness!"

"You never told them?" David asked.

"I was gonna tell them when we were out of the fifty block radius!" Natalie replied.

"You mean El Diablo herself is working here?!" Tony exclaimed. "That's it! I'm gonna go kill her!" Natalie strapped herself around Tony's waist.

"Charlie! Help!" Natalie wheezed.

"Sorry sis, but I'm actually thinking of killing her myself." Charlie said cracking his knuckles. The others sweat-dropped.

"Stop! Not that I care if you kill her but Papa said if you two get arrested again, he'll cut off the cable!" Natalie yelled. The two of them calmed down as Natalie fell on the floor. The others sweat-dropped further as Tony and Charlie took the boxes away. The five of them stood around Natalie.

"Hi?" Natalie said sheepishly.

"When were you going to tell us that you were going home?" David asked.

"Um, now?"

"Geez Nat, you can't just let a small problem like this drive you insane!" Videl exclaimed. "I'd have to agree with Gohan on this one, I think you're overreacting!" David and Andrea nodded in agreement.

"Excuse me qué?" Natalie asked. "You guys don't understand…"

"That's what you always say but how can we understand if you don't tell us?" Gohan asked.

"Well maybe I think that it is none of your business." Natalie replied icily.

"How can it not be our business?" Gohan demanded.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, there are plenty of things you haven't told us either Son." Natalie said firmly. Gohan just looked at her in disbelief.

"What if she came back for a reason?" Gohan asked calmly.

"Like what?" Natalie demanded.

"Well, maybe you got your ability…" Gohan started.

"Stop right there, I know what you're going to say and you are 100% wrong dude. I didn't inherit them from her." Natalie said.

"How do you know?" Gohan asked.

"Um, hel-lo! Psychic in the house! I think I would've known."

"You might not have, I mean no offence but while you were on holiday we were helping each other control our ability. What were you doing?" David asked.

"Et tu, David?" Natalie sighed.

"If Natalie thinks this is the best decision then I think we should support her. After all, she's not our mother and it really isn't our place to tell her what to do. If you want to go home sweetie, then by all means go. I'll still be here waiting for you." Nicholas said. Natalie hugged him.

"You are too much. If I weren't wearing mascara, I'd cry." Natalie said.

"What about your mother?" David asked. "How do you think she's gonna feel?"

"David!" Nicholas said.

"I don't care how she's going to feel and neither should my family." Natalie said. "After fourteen years of absence I don't think they could handle it! You saw my brothers! They practically went Ricky Ricardo! Charlie is only fifteen, he shouldn't have to deal with this."

_**Fifteen?! He's over 6 feet tall!**_ Andrea thought to herself.

"Why don't you let him determine that?!" Videl yelled.

"THAT'S IT! THE END! NO MÁS!! I have come to a decision! I. Can't. Deal. If you like her so much THEN YOU TAKE HER!!" Natalie said, storming out of the dorm.

"Well guys, I hope you're satisfied. She may never talk to you again." Nicholas said folding his arms.

"This is ridiculous!" Gohan said storming after her. He grabbed her by the arm and turned her so that she was facing him. 

"You have to forgive her Natalie. For your sanity, please! Look what this has done to you! You are so convinced that she doesn't love you just because she left. But you have to forgive her." Gohan pleaded.

"Why? Just because you did." Natalie asked.

"Excuse me?" Gohan asked, shocked.

"You think I don't know what your hidden motive is? You might not be able to see but it's as plain as day."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"All I'm going to tell you is don't mess with things you don't understand. My mother and your father are two completely situations. He didn't abandon you, he left to save you and his family. You just don't seem to understand that your dad did the noblest thing a father can do for his son. Don't you dare expect me to forgive my mother just because you 'forgave' your father. In my opinion you should be thanking him, not excusing him." Natalie left leaving Gohan standing in the hallway gob smacked.

_Later that night…_

Gohan awoke to find himself in a white place. He looked down and saw he was floating thousands of miles above the Earth.

"AAAHH!! AAAAAAAHH!! I'M GONNA DIE." Gohan yelled as he waved his arms about ridiculously.

"Did you forget that you could fly? You certainly are a spawn of Kakarrot." A voice said from behind him. Gohan stopped flailing his arms around and rubbed his hand behind head sheepishly.

"Hehe. Thanks a lot." Gohan said as he turned around to look at who was talking to him. "Oh…Kami-sama!"

To be continued…

Don't kill me just yet…there's still a whole lot of story to go. Oh, and if you like Natalie then be warned because I'm gonna put her through a lot of hell. Get your tissues ready children!


	4. Gohan's Realisation, A Voice From The Pa...

The Pain Behind The Mask pt4

The Pain Behind The Mask pt4

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or it's characters. Just the ones I made up. I also do not own anything that I mention that isn't mine.

A/N: There is a character from DBZ in this fic with whom I am not that familiar with so if they seem out of character then **cries** I'M SORRYYYY!! Oh, and my Spanish grammar is a little rusty so plz excuse that ^_^()

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"Kami-sama…" Gohan just stood there with his mouth hanging.

"Are you just stand there with your mouth hanging open?"

"It's just that…you look exactly like my tousan!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Well, that would make a lot of sense I am his father." Bardock smirked slightly.

"Woah…" Was all that Gohan could say.

"Indeed." Bardock replied. "Although I do consider myself a lot more handsome than Kakarrot."

"So, this is a dream isn't it?" Gohan asked, Bardock nodded. "YOU'RE EVIL! EVIL!!"

"Oh for the love of…" Bardock muttered as he slapped his forehead. "That other dream you had was false. It was used to trick you! Kakarrot's spawn indeed…"

"But, why are you in my dream? No offence but I don't know even know your name." Gohan said.

"Bardock, for the record. And I was sent because Lord Enma thought that Radditz might scare the hell out of you. Seeing as that is where he is currently residing."

"Oh…well I'm Gohan!"

"Gohan? What kind of a name is that?"

"Hey! That was the name of my tousan's grandfather!"

"If I recall correctly my father's name was Coriander. But I guess it doesn't matter."

"Oy vey…"

"I've been told to talk to you because you have a problem. So, spill it. I don't have all death you know." Bardock said as he sat down. Gohan raised an eyebrow and cautiously sat down next to him.

"It's my friend. Her mother left her father when she was a little girl and is back now. She is convinced that her mother came back here to concoct some evil plan or something. So, I try to talk some sense into her and say 'live and let live, she's your mother!' but she says no and acts like a total brat. And then, she has the nerve to say that I'm telling her to do this because I did the same thing for tousan!" Gohan said.

"Teenagers sure can talk fast!" Bardock muttered. "Why is that bothering you so much? She's not your mother."

"I know but…"

"The thing is Gohan, I've been told to be all mysterious and riddle-esque but quite frankly I don't have the patience."

"Wow, Vegeta much?" Gohan laughed. Bardock just raised an eyebrow and continued.

"She's psychic right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you should just leave her to it. There are some things which people just can't talk about."

"I thought you weren't going to be all mysterious and stuff."

"I didn't think it would be this much fun!" Bardock said rubbing his hand behind his head like Goku. Gohan face-faulted. "She knows what she's doing. I think you need to go and talk to Kakarrot."

"Why?"

"Listen, when she said what she did. I think she misunderstood. She's new at this thing where as you've had your power since you were born. You aren't mad at your father. She sensed that you were mad because you had such a great family and it wasn't fair that she was treating her mother like this. You had experienced the loss of a parent and you think that she hasn't."

"What do you mean think?"

"You were raised to think the best of everyone. Go talk to Kakarrot."

"Ok." Gohan sighed. "Well I guess I'll see you around then…Grandpa."

"Goodbye Gohan…oh and if you ever call me Grandpa again I'll be forced to kick your ass." Bardock said as he disappeared.

"Well I guess now I realise where Dad gets it from." Gohan said shaking his head.

The next day… 

Natalie woke up and stretched her arms. Even though it was 9:30am she crept downstairs and started to make breakfast for her brothers and father. About an hour later Charlie appeared in the kitchen to see that Natalie had made them three stacks of pancakes that were all 3ft tall. Charlie rushed over to his sister and gave her a hug.

"I forgot how much I missed you Nat." Charlie said.

"You are sweet. Unlike your other two thirds." Natalie said, and as if by magic Tony came galloping down the stairs, vacuumed the pancakes and ran out the door.

"Does he even have a job?" Charlie asked.

"I don't dare ask." Natalie said shaking her head. She took off the apron and grabbed her books. "I'm off. Don't forget to wake up Papa, okay?"

"Sure." Charlie replied as he dug in. Natalie stepped outside and teleported to school. She walked in the auditorium, looked up and saw Hikari upstairs leaning over the balcony. She tapped her watch as if 'the clock's ticking'. Natalie narrowed her eyes at her as Hikari walked away. Hikari walked to a pillar and leaned her back against it.

"She's too suspicious now. She's a lot smarter than I gave her credit for." Hikari said. "I need you to take care of that."

"With pleasure my darling."

Natalie still stood staring at where Hikari was standing. _**I don't like her being here. Papa loved her too much, if only he knew what she did when I was little…then maybe…** _Someone put their hands on Natalie's shoulders and she turned around in a fight stance.

"Hey! Put the arsenal away it's just me!" Nicholas laughed. Natalie sighed a mushroom cloud.

"Sorry sweetie." Natalie smiled weakly. Nicholas sighed and looked at her with a concerned face. "Hikari is bothering me…again!"

"Have you ever tried to be fake nice to her?" Nicholas asked.

"Nicky! I can't believe you would even ask something like that! Remember that time when we were 13 and you guys said I was too mean so I tried to be fake nice…" Natalie asked.

**FLASHBACK**

Videl, David and Nicholas knocked on Natalie's front door. Ricky opened the door and there was loud music and the sounds of fighting coming from inside. Suddenly, Ricky grabbed Natalie by the collar and held her in the air in front of the three.

"She makes waffles! She says please! She doesn't punch anybody! FIX HER!" Ricky said as he tossed her down and slammed the door. The other three sweat-dropped.

**END FLASHBACK**

"Do you need to talk?" Nicholas asked. Natalie linked her arm with his.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you." Natalie sighed.

"It's your birthday in a two weeks yeah?"

"Yep. The big 19. Only me and Gohan left."

Elsewhere… 

"Hey guys." Gohan said.

"Hi…" Andrea, David and Videl sighed.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked.

"We feel guilty about yelling at Nat yesterday." Andrea replied.

_**That's strange. It hasn't effected me like that…**_ Gohan thought.

"We wanna go apologise but there's something stopping us." Videl said.

"I think it's called pride sweetie." David said. "We just think that…"

"She's acting like a brat for some unknown reason." Gohan said.

"I wouldn't say brat…" The three of them said.

Later that night… 

It was raining hard as Natalie fished in her pockets for the keys. Once she found them, she opened her front door dropping her books on the kitchen table.

"I'm home!" Natalie yelled as lightning flashed. "Grr, I hate thunderstorms. They always frighten me."

"We're in the living room Natalia." Natalie's father (Frederico or Fred) called out. Natalie walked into the living room and saw her father and brothers plus another guest. Hikari. Thunder cracked.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Natalie ran off to her bedroom yelling and slammed the door.

"Don't you think it's weird how we did that too?" Charlie asked Tony.

"I suppose it runs in the family." Tony smirked.

Later on… 

The five of them sat at the dinner table eating dinner, which Hikari had prepared. Natalie had not touched one bit of her food but her brothers and father were wolfing it down.

"Come on mi hija, it's not going to bite you." Fred laughed.

"That's cool, since I don't plan on biting it either." Natalie said.

"Eat your food Natalie." Hikari smiled. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked.

"No thanks. I'm allergic to poisoned food." Natalie replied. Tony suddenly stopped eating.

"She was being sarcastic Ton." Charlie said.

"Oh!" Tony said and resumed eating.

"How come you grew your hair so…long?" Hikari asked with a look on her face, as if she had smelt a really rotten fish.

"Well I always you hated anyone who had longer hair than you so…well the rest is elementary." Natalie smirked. Hikari decided to change the subject.

"You know, eating this ham reminds me of that book I used to read to you when you were little. Now, what was it called?" Hikari asked, as she affectionately rubbed her hand against Fred's.

"Was it Green Eggs and I'm Hammered?" Natalie asked as juice came out of Charlie's nose.

"Natalia…" Fred said in a warning tone. Lightning flashed outside.

"Lo siento Papa." Natalie said.

"Look Natalie. I'm just trying to…" Hikari started.

"Well you're trying a little too late." Natalie said. Hikari sighed.

"Look how many times am I going to say I'm sorry?" Hikari asked as she took Natalie's hand. Natalie suddenly gasped and started to sweat bullets. When she let go she looked at Hikari with a horrified face.

"How could you?! WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" Natalie shrieked as she stormed off.

"It's your turn dude." Tony said. Charlie sighed and went after her.

"Fred, we need to talk. In private." Hikari said. The parents got up and walked towards the den. Charlie knocked on Natalie's door.

"Come in Charlie." Natalie said. Charlie walked in and sat down on the bed beside her.

"You know, it's creepy when you do that." Charlie said. Natalie just remained silent. "Hey, are you crying?"

"No." Natalie said as she sat up to face him.

"Good. You know, in all the time I've known you sis I don't think I've ever seen you cry." Charlie smirked.

"Of course not. I'm not allowed to." Natalie said somewhat sadly. Charlie gave her a quizzical look.

"Why don't we go downstairs and you can apologise to Papa, hmm?" Charlie said.

"You know, for a little brother, you sure are wise." Natalie smiled as they got up and walked downstairs.

"Hey Ton, where's Pops?" Charlie asked.

"He went into the den with Hikari." Tony said matter-of-factly. 

"Did you just get that big sense of dread?" Charlie asked.

"Oh yeah." Natalie replied. The three of them rushed to the den and found their father unconscious with his eyes open and Hikari standing over him.

"Dios Mio!" Tony uttered as he ran to call an ambulance.

"WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Natalie yelled.

"I merely overloaded his brain, why?" Hikari asked. Charlie ran over to his father and felt for a pulse.

"The pulse is really weak Nat." Charlie said frantically.

"You bitch!" Natalie said as she lunged for Hikari but Hikari merely jumped out the window.

"One down Natalie!! And the clock is ticking!" Hikari said as she ran off. Natalie's eyes widened in realisation.

"Dios Mio!" Natalie said. "Carlos, stay here with Papa and make sure he gets to the hospital. Call Ricky and tell him what's going on."

"Dondé fui Natalie?" Charlie asked.

"To go warn my friends." Natalie said as she ran out into the rain. She seemed to have forgotten in all the panic that she could teleport so she ran all the way to the University hoping that she could get there in time. She made it to the Uni and didn't sense that Hikari was there so she burst into the dorm, soaking wet and out of breath.

"Natalie!" The whole gang cried in unison.

"Gracias Dios that you guys are all right!" Natalie wheezed.

"Natalie, what happened?" Nicholas asked as she hugged him.

"It was awful! We were eating and Hikari was there and then she went to talk to Papa and we walked in on them and Papa was almost dead!" Natalie struggled with her speech since she was so out of breath.

"Nani?! Is Uncle Fred alright?" David asked.

"I dunno! My brothers took him to the hospital and Hikari admitted that she did it to him! She overloaded his brain!" Natalie said as she hugged Nicholas tighter. "Then she said one down and I figured she was coming for you guys so I ran here."

"And I would care because?" Nicholas said. Natalie looked into his eyes.

"She got to you to didn't she?" Natalie almost whispered. Nicholas pushed her onto the floor.

"Does that answer your question?" Nicholas smirked evilly. 

"But, after all we talked about…all the time we spent together! And YOU'RE JUST TELLING ME THAT IT MEANT NOTHING TO YOU!!"

"Basically…" Nicholas replied.

"YOU BASTARD!" Natalie yelled, lunging for him but it was as if there was a force field around him as she bounced off.

"I know!" Nicholas chirped. Hikari entered the doorway and smiled a sinister smile. Videl went to Natalie and tried to help her up.

"Ah, I see you've already told her the great news!" Hikari squealed. Nicholas went over to Hikari and kissed her on her hand.

"I don't know why I wanted the girl when I could've had the woman." Nicholas said. "Toodles, children." They suddenly disappeared.

"Natalie, are you okay?" Videl asked. Natalie was as pale as a ghost.

"Why didn't you guys believe me? I tried to tell you she was evil." Natalie said looking directly at Gohan. Gohan just stood there with a face of shock.

To Be Continued…

Poor Natalie, the worse is still yet to come. But will Gohan be able to have confidence in Natalie or will there be another argument on what to do? All I have to say is oh, as usual, dear…


	5. I Had To Fall To Lose It All...

The Pain Behind The Mask pt5

The Pain Behind The Mask pt5

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or it's characters. Just the ones I made up. I also do not own anything that I mention that isn't mine.

A/N: Sorry this took so long but MICK FOLEY IS BACK!!! WOO! Dudes don't kill me. I don't mean to be so evil to Natalie but I really want you guys to hate Hikari. Ooh! I forgot to mention NOBODY realised who Alexis Carrington was, well I suppose you'd have to be over 16 or have a really good memory to remember that she was the evil bitch of the 80's soap Dynasty. This part will contain extracts from the song "In The End" by Linkin Park. The next part will contain the whole thing.

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Natalie teleported from the dorm and ran down to the intensive care unit of the hospital just as they were wheeling her father into a room.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Natalie asked her brothers. Both of them had dried tears on their faces.

"The doctors don't know what's wrong with him! They say it's like he's in a catatonic state. I tried Ricky but couldn't reach him. The tonto left the machine on." Charlie said, his voice wavering. Natalie embraced him in a soothing hug.

"C'mon lil bro. It's gonna be okay." Natalie soothed.

"Do you know what happened?" Tony asked. Natalie sighed.

"I'm 100% sure that Hikari did this to him…it's just…I'm not sure how to explain it. But I'm gonna fix it."

"Natalia Consuela Maria Cevallos, I have had enough!" Tony hissed. "First, you just bolt off and leave us with Papa and then re-appear without so much as an explanation!!! I know you've been keeping something from us and I want to know what the hell is going on!"

"Tony, it's none of your concern!" Natalie snapped. Tony smacked her across the face. She looked at him with disbelief.

"Don't you damn tell me what is or isn't my concern niño! I know you're keeping something! David called me the other day and asked some really peculiar questions…"

"How dare he?! I'm gonna kill him."

"I think you better worry about me right now." Tony said. Natalie looked away. "Natalia, mira aqui! What the hell is wrong with you?! Our father is practically in a coma and you show no emotion whatsoever! You never do! What? Do you not care?!"

"Of course I care! What kind of a question is that?!"

"Antonio! Back off!" Charlie said standing in front of Natalie. "Leave her alone."

"Look, I'm going home. Take care of Papa, Charlie." Natalie said as she walked off.

"Where are you going?!" Charlie called after her.

"To call up some favours."

"I…I don't know what made me snap like that." Tony uttered.

"Well, it's like the girls in my class say. You don't think with your head…"

"Ok, ok, I know how the saying goes Charlie." Tony said.

It had been a week since Nicholas had left with Hikari and Natalie's father was put into intensive care. Natalie had gone into an almost mute state since she never talked. She didn't eat or watch TV either.

"I'm getting really worried about her." David commented.

"What are we going to do? Natalie was right all along and we didn't even listen to her! We didn't even give her a chance and now her father is in an unstable state, her boyfriend is evil and she's a wreck!" Videl said almost in tears.

"I…I don't know…" Gohan uttered. Natalie walked out form the girls' room and headed out the door. "Nat, where are you going?"

"I'm going to go see my father." Natalie barely replied as she teleported away.

At the hospital… 

Charlie and Tony were standing bedside vigil until Natalie arrived. Suddenly, the two of them felt their legs give way and just as they were about to collapse, they disappeared. A nurse saw what happened and checked her forehead.

"I quit. I just do." The nurse said as she walked away.

Back at the dorm… 

"What we need to do is go and find Natalie and calm her down. She said she was going to the hospital right?" David said.

"Okay, let's…okay. Did anyone just feel like the life was sucked out of them?" Gohan asked as the rest of them collapsed. "Good, then it's not just me." Gohan said as he collapsed too. Their four carcasses disappeared. Gohan's eyes fluttered open as he awoke. He saw that him and the others were in a giant, plastic cylinder shaped jail. Gohan tried to touch the wall but got horribly electrocuted as he backed away.

"I tried that about two seconds before you did." A voice said as Gohan looked over there was another cylinder jail with Natalie's two brothers inside.

"Charlie! What the hell is going on?" Gohan said.

"I'm glad you asked that question Gohan." Hikari said as she stood about three feet away from them.

"So, Nat was right. You are evil." Gohan seethed.

"Not evil. Just extremely creative." Hikari smirked. Nicholas came and joined her.

"Where are we?" Andrea asked.

"At the foot of the mountains near North City." Nicholas replied.

"Damn…!" Tony said in awe. "It be…cold!"

"What have you done to my friend?" David struggled to talk as the others regained consciousness.

"Just made sure he was on the right side. After all, when I destroy you all…"

"Excuse me…DESTROY US?!" Videl asked.

"Yes, I believe that's what she said." Nicholas replied. "But of course, we are willing to give you a fair chance. One of you will fight me, my choice of course, and if you win you go free…but if you lose. Well, let's just say you won't see the light of day ever again."

"I hate to say this but Nick is freaking me out." David said.

"Hmm, let's see who shall I choose? Hmm…the nerdy one." Nicholas said. "I shall make him dance." He smirked.

"Great, even when I'm challenged to fight for my life I'm still called nerdy." Gohan sighed.

"Oh yes, I think I forgot to mention that we drugged you via a small fly shaped robot and now you have the chi of an eighty year old man. Power level wise that would be 1!" Nicholas mentioned very quickly.

"Aw…kuso…" Gohan sighed.

_Back at the hospital…_

Natalie walked back into the hospital to find that her brother's were gone.

"Dios Mio, I'm gone for 2 hours and they disappear without telling me. I have no emotions he says…" Natalie muttered as she walked into her father's room. She gasped as she looked at him, connected to about a million and one wires just to keep him breathing. His eyes were still in that same manner. Empty and invalid. 

"Oh Papa…" She silently said as she sat down beside him.

"My poor Natalie…"

"Yeah poor me…hey wait a second…Papa?" Natalie asked as she looked at him but he was still vacant. "Toto Annihilation?"

"No I am not that blasted dog of yours! It's Papa!"

"Lo siento…wait a sec, how are you talking to me?"

"Telepathically."

_**Flashback**_

"You inherited these powers from me…and your father." Natalie's grandfather said.

"I knew it!" Natalie chirped.

"I will train you as well as I can…but with these powers come great responsibility. Are you sure you can handle it?"

_**End Flashback**_

"Oh…that's right! Abuelo told me that…"

"Yes, we don't have much time mi hija. I just had to tell you that your friends and brothers have been captured by Hikari."

"I know Papa…I know…"

"Wait a sec, how did you…? Never mind, I just wanted to tell you that I know why you went to Spain this summer and I want you to promise me something Natalia. Don't kill her…even though she never loved me I still love her…"

"Papa, I can't promise that…"

"Natalie, she's the mother of my children."

"Children…that's it! Papa, you're a genius."

"Of course, where did you think you get it from?"

"Gracias Papa."

"De nada mi hija…" Natalie looked over to her father and smiled. Suddenly the heart monitor started to speed up at an alarming rate. About five medics came running into the room shouting various orders to each other.

"Papa? What's wrong with him?!"

_Time is a valuable thing_

_Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings_

"Miss, I'm going to ask you to stand back." One medic asked.

"CLEAR!" *Zzz, beepbeepbeep* "CLEAR!" *Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.*

_Watch it count down to the end of the day_

_The clock ticks life away_

_It's so unreal_

"No…no…Papa." Natalie uttered but still no tears flowed from her face.

"Time of death 9:15pm." The doctor said as he put a comforting hand on Natalie's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss." Natalie clenched her fist and ran out of the room, getting her cell phone out.

"I know you're there now pick up the god damn phone!" Natalie yelled. "Finally you ass!! Listen, there's been a change of plan…"

_Back at the Mountains…_

Gohan was teleported from the cylinder and in front of Nicholas. Nicholas smiled a truly wicked smile and booted Gohan in the stomach that sent him flying across the room. Nicholas cracked his knuckles.

"This is going to be fun." Nicholas said as he walked towards Gohan and continued to pummel him. Videl covered her eyes as David tried to run into the cylinder but became electrocuted.

"Owie…" David said. Nicholas continued to cackle as he beat on Gohan. Gohan tried his best to defend himself but he was so drained he could hardly do anything.

"STOP IT!! STOP IT NOW YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER!!" A voice yelled. It was Natalie.

"NATALIE?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"In the flesh." Natalie said as she walked towards Nicholas, wearing a very long black coat. "Leave him out of this. You want to face someone, then face someone who can actually defend themselves."

"You're joking, right?" Nicholas laughed. "Because I wouldn't want to destroy that beautiful face of yours."

"Put him back where he was and I will face you." Natalie said with such intensity that the others were a little afraid.

"As you wish, sweetie." Nicholas said as he pressed a button on his belt and Gohan returned to the cylinder.

"Natalie stop being foolish! You don't have to do this!" David yelled.

"And what exactly can you do about it Grandma? Breathe on him to death!" Natalie asked.

"Natalie!" Gohan tried to reason.

"Stay out of this Son it has nothing to do with you! You see them?! My brothers! Who's in the hospital?! My father! Who's the cause of all this?! MY MOTHER WHEREVER THE HELL SHE'S DISAPPEARED TO!! I DON'T FIGHT YOUR BATTLES SO LET ME FIGHT MINE!" Natalie yelled in despair. She turned around to Nicholas and threw the coat off. "Are we gonna do this or what?"

_Didn't look out below_

_Watch the time go right out the window_

"I still don't understand what you're doing here little girl!" Nicholas sneered as he started to laugh. In an almost undetectable move Natalie kicked him across his face and sent him flying across the room. He landed against the wall and touched his face to find blood there. Nicholas looked up at Natalie and saw the serious look on her face.

"I'm here to kick butt and eat sushi. And I'm all out of sushi." Natalie said.

"Nice Godzilla call back!" Tony nodded his head in approval. Nicholas flew up and multiplied himself into six. Natalie closed her eyes and concentrated. She yelled and charged to either side of the line they were standing in. This only left the one Nicholas who was a little dazed. She flipped up and stood on a beam that was high above.

"AAAAAAAAAHH!" Natalie yelled and dived down much in the manner of Jeff and Matt Hardy.

"You know, all she ever does is wrestling moves…" David half-laughed. Nicholas and Natalie continued to exchange punches and kicks until Nicholas booted Natalie to the floor. She got up with her face full of fury but Nicholas re-appeared behind her and grabbed her from her behind. She struggled to get free but Nicholas kept his grasp.

"Let me go you tonto!" Natalie spat.

"Mmm, Nat you spoke Spanish! Cara Mia!" Nicholas said, much in the manner of Gomez Adams. He leaned over and kissed her neck. She managed to get her arm free and elbowed him in the gut.

"You sicko!" Natalie said.

"C'mon, you know you love it!" Nicholas said somewhat insanely as he charged into her. Natalie dodged and appeared behind him knocking him to the ground.

"Game, set and match baby." Natalie said.

"Stop flirting and get on with it!!" Tony shouted as Charlie rolled his eyes.

"I'd have to agree with Ton. These two are the biggest flirts in the world…the irony…" Videl said shaking her head.

"Give it up. You'll never defeat me like this." Nicholas smirked.

"You're right…but there is another way." Natalie said pulling out a gun and aiming it at him. The six prisoners gasped. "Where would be the right place? Hmm, maybe that washboard stomach of yours?"

"Oh, you'd love to see that wouldn't you?" Nicholas smirked.

"Maybe, but I'm afraid I'm in the middle of killing you now." Natalie smirked back.

"Even when they're on opposite sides of the fence, they still manage to flirt like hell." David said shaking his head.

"You don't think she's going to…" Videl couldn't even finish her sentence. Nicholas swallowed hard and suddenly started to laugh.

"Natalie! Don't shoot him! He could be under some sort of mind control!" Gohan tried to reason.

"Not could Son, he is. Hikari is practically a technical genius. She is controlling his mind." Natalie replied. "But I just don't seem to care." Nicholas laughed even more. "And may I ask what in the blue hell is so funny?!"

"You! Thinking you can kill me. You can't do it! You don't have the balls!" Nicholas said.

"Oh? And why not?" Natalie asked.

"Because you love me too much." Nicholas replied. There was a long period of silence. Natalie cocked the gun into place and set her aim.

"I'll get over it." Natalie said as she put her finger on the trigger. *BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, CLICK, CLICK.* Videl covered her eyes and cried into Gohan's chest. The others looked as if they were going to cry too. Nicholas fell to the ground as a puddle of blood surrounded him. Rains started to pour down, washing the blood away. Natalie just took the gun into pieces and threw them away.

"Kami-sama…" Gohan uttered.

"Where in the blue hell are you Alexis?!" Natalie yelled. "I'm ready for you now!" Hikari appeared with a maniacal grin on her face. Lightning and thunder cracked as they stood face to face ready to face each other.

To be continued…

Well, well, well! It's time for the big showdown. A lot of questions will be answered in the next chapter! Plz leave a review dudes!! Laterz.


	6. It doesnt even matter

The Pain Behind The Mask pt6 Packard Bell NEC, Inc. Normal Packard Bell NEC, Inc. 12 208 2001-10-03T17:13:00Z 2001-10-27T12:53:00Z 7 1829 10429 Packard Bell NEC 86 20 12807 9.2720 

The Pain Behind The Mask pt6

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or it's characters. Just the ones I made up. I also do not own anything that I mention that isn't mine.

A/N: I am actually going to be serious for a moment and issue a warning. This chapter contains some very delicate issues such as physical abuse and suicide. If either of these things upset or alarm you in any way then please don't read on. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well I've underestimated you Natalie. You're determined…just like your father." Hikari said. A low growl emitted from Natalie's throat. Lightning flashed as the rain continued to trickle down slowly.

"How dare you talk about Papa like that?!" Natalie seethed. Hikari just grinned even more sinisterly.

"Why are you fighting?" Hikari asked. Natalie looked at her with a quizzical face.

"What kind of a question is that?! I'm fighting to protect my family and friends." Natalie replied.

"Well that's ironic! Why should you bother to protect them when they failed to protect you?!" Hikari asked.

_It starts with [you]_

_One thing, I don't know why_

"Shut. Up."

"Ooh! Did I strike a nerve?" Hikari asked.

_It doesn't even matter how hard you try_

_Keep that in mind I designed this rhyme to explain in due time_

_All I know_

"I said shut up."

"Why? I think they should hear about it!" Hikari screeched as she ran towards Natalie and started an assault on her. Natalie just seemed to take the beating and not fight back.

"C'mon Nat!! Fight back!" David urged.

"Did you ever wonder why Natalie is short when the rest of her family is so tall?! Because I refused to give her proper nutrition." Hikari said, continuing to pummel on Natalie.

_Time is a valuable thing_

_Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings_

"SHUT UP!" Natalie cried.

"Did you ever wonder why she never cries?! Because her stupid eldest brother told her not to give me the satisfaction."

"STOP IT!!" Natalie yelled.

"Did you ever wonder why SHE HATES ME SO MUCH?!" Hikari asked insanely.

"What in the blue hell are you talking about?" Tony asked. Hikari kicked Natalie to the ground as Natalie coughed up blood. Hikari continued to kick Natalie throughout.

_Watch it count down to the end of the day_

_The clock ticks life away_

_It's so unreal_

"I hated her from the moment the doctor told me 'it's a girl!' I knew that she would grow up to defy me, to disobey me, to be prettier and more talented than me! So I made sure she didn't. I hated all my brats but I hated her with a passion and do you want to know why? Because even when she was a child, she still protected her brothers and it made me **sick**. I beat her until she bled. I beat her so hard that she may not be able to have children! I beat her and beat her and she still did not cry." Hikari seethed as she kicked Natalie again.

_Didn't look out below_

_Watch the time go right out the window_

_Trying to hold on, didn't even know_

"What about father? Didn't you love him?" Charlie asked.

"I only married Fred because of his heritage." Hikari replied.

"Because he's Spanish?" Tony asked.

"No you baka! Because of his Tocopheran heritage." Hikari answered.

"I…knew it." Natalie barely said as Hikari kicked her in the abdomen.

_I wasted it all just to watch you go_

_I kept everything inside_

_And even though I tried_

_It all fell apart_

"But none of the brats showed any signs of carrying the gene…I was so infuriated that I wanted to beat it out of you…but she stopped me. 'Don't hurt my brothers! It's not their fault!' She said. It pissed me off."

"You…monster." David cried. Hikari picked Natalie off the floor and smacked her across the face. Natalie shook her fists and fought back. She kicked Hikari in the gut and she fell on the floor. Natalie struggled to pick up a metal pole she found and picked it up above Hikari's head.

_What it meant to me will eventually be a_

_Memory of a time when I [tried so hard]_

"Now you die!" Natalie said.

_**It's like death and killing don't even matter to her anymore. __I thought I knew all my friends equally, how could I have not seen it? All that pain, suffering that was going on inside one of my best friends**_ Gohan thought as he watched Natalie breathe in ragged breaths.

_Tried so hard and got so far_

_But in the end, it doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall to lose it all_

_But in the end it doesn't even matter_

"You can't kill me." Hikari croaked. Natalie kicked her again.

"Why shouldn't I? I spent my whole childhood afraid of you!!! Beating after beating when sometimes I just wanted to curl up and die." Natalie seethed. The rain started to pour down ten times harder. It was like a monsoon.

"Dios Mio!" Charlie gasped.

**FLASHBACK**

A four-year-old Charlie looked into the bathroom via the crack of the door.

"What in the hell were you thinking?!" Ricky yelled. Natalie just looked up at him.

"It's my fault she left Papa!" Natalie replied.

"But that is no reason to overdose in paracetemol and try to kill yourself!!" Ricky screamed as he hugged her. Tears went streaming down his face. "I love you mi Natalia pequeña. Just remember that."

"Okay."

**END FLASHBACK**

_One thing, I don't know why_

_It doesn't even matter how hard you try_

_Keep that in mind I designed this rhyme to remind myself how (I tried so hard)_

_I tried so hard_

"I should kill you because you are an evil person. You thought you could exploit your children into becoming an army to pay off your debt. Three sons all born one after another with special abilities in return for eternal youth. But I messed up the order, didn't I? I should kill you but I can't and do you want to know why?" Natalie said as she finally let loose the tears she had been holding since she was a two-year-old toddler. "Because my father begged me not to. 'Please Natalie' he said 'even though she never loved me, I still love her! Don't kill her, she's the mother of my children!' he begged. And then…" By this time she was trying her hardest not to sob her heart out.

_In spite of the way you were mocking me_

_Acting like I was part of your property_

_Remembering all the times you fought with me_

_I'm surprised it got so [far]_

"He died."

"What?! You mean Papa is…" Charlie couldn't even finish his sentence.

"The only parent I've ever loved, ever known. The only parent that took care of me and loved me and would give the world for me is dead. As far as I am concerned I am an orphan now. You never were my mother. Because a mother wouldn't try and destroy her daughter. If I hadn't promised then I'd be busting your head so hard but then I figure…death is too good for you." Natalie angrily said. 

_Things aren't the way they were before_

_You wouldn't even recognize me anymore_

_Not that you knew me back then_

_But it all comes back to me in the end_

_I kept everything inside_

_And even though I tried_

_It all fell apart_

_What it meant to me will eventually be a_

_Memory of a time when I [tried so hard]_

"The police are on their way and just to agonise your jail sentence I shall tell you what you always dreaded. I'm the one. Second sight sure can be useful. You know what I saw when you came to dinner and you touched my hand? I saw what you've been doing all this time. You've been killing innocent…children so you can keep your stupid YOUTH!! I saw when you killed grandma and grandpa in front of Charlie and me and told us it was just a bad dream!! I saw what a cruel heartless bitch you are and I still say death is too good for you." Natalie said. 

_Tried so hard and got so far_

_But in the end, it doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall to lose it all_

_But in the end it doesn't even matter_

A police siren was heard in the distance as two police vans parked at the top of the mountain road trail and a hoard of policemen came running down.

"FREEZE! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" Ricky yelled as he held a gun to Hikari. "Mom." He smirked mockingly. Natalie dropped the pole on the floor as they dragged Hikari away.

"You have been charged with numerous accounts of murder one and physical abuse against a minor. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one then one will be provided for you…" The police officer read Hikari her rights. The others were let out of the cylinders.

_I put my trust in you_

_Pushed as far as I can go_

_For all this_

_There's only one thing you should know_

"Are you okay?" Ricky asked Natalie, as he looked her over. "She beat you up pretty badly."

"Nat?" Ricky asked. Her eyes filled with water as she let out a heart-wrenching sob. Ricky embraced her. "There, there mi Natalia pequeña."

_I put my trust in you_

_Pushed as far as I can go_

_For all this_

_There's only one thing you should know_

"I couldn't save him Ricky! I couldn't save Papa and now he's dead and it's all my fault and I don't know what I'm gonna do!" Natalie sobbed as fresh hot tears streamed down her face replacing the old ones.

"You poor baby! You thought Papa was dead?" Ricky asked.

"Nani?" Natalie asked.

"Right after you left…it was like a miracle. He's totally fine now." Ricky said. Natalie smiled.

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

"Good…" Natalie said. Suddenly 6 people engulfed her. "Um, hi?"

"Ohmigosh! You brave sweetie!" Videl said.

"I owe you my life!" Charlie and Tony said.

"Dude!" Andrea said.

"I'm so sorry Nat!" Gohan said.

"Dude! You totally rock! I'm so sorry!!" David said. "But what about Nick?" Everyone froze.

"Ah, he's fine!" Ricky said as everyone looked at him bewildered. Nicholas got up slowly with a big grin on his face.

"Am I the greatest actor in the world or what?" Nicholas asked.

"You…bastard!" Everyone excluding Natalie and Ricky exclaimed.

"I'll take that as a yes." Nicholas smirked as he walked beside Natalie and kissed her on the cheek. "And here's my baby!" Natalie smiled.

"Ok! Now for those of you who have just tuned in I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IN THE BLUE HELL IS GOING ON? WHY ARE YOU HERE RICARDO?! WHAT IS A TOCOFALOOZA?! WHY ISN'T HE DEAD?!" Tony yelled.

"Geez, you'd think he wanted me dead." Nicholas whispered as Natalie laughed.

"Ok, first we need to go check on my dad and then we'll go out for pizza. My treat." Ricky said. "Then I'll explain everything. Geez, Ton you are such a hothead!"

"Am not!" Tony said sticking out his tongue.

"Listen guys, I'll catch up with you later…" Natalie said walking off.

"I'll go after her." Gohan volunteered. Nicholas put his hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"Listen man, you're my best friend but if you hurt her in any way…she's very delicate right now." Nicholas said, with pain in his eyes.

"I just want to go and apologise." Gohan said as Nicholas grudgingly let him go. Gohan found Natalie sitting near a tree. The rain had finally let up. "Mind if I sit?"

"Knock your socks off." Natalie said. Gohan sat down.

"Nat, I just want to tell you how sorry I am…I didn't know…" Gohan tried to get the right words out but Natalie just shushed him.

"It's ok, no one knew except Ricky and Nick." Natalie replied.

"Are you mad at me?" Gohan asked.

"No Gohan, I'm not mad at you. I actually envy you." Natalie said.

"Why's that?"

"Because you seem to see the best in everyone…you have such an innocent look on life that I never had. You see the world through the eyes of a child sometimes…I wish I had that for even one second of my life." Natalie sadly smiled as tears started to roll down her face.

"Nat…"

"You know why I didn't fight her at first? Fear. Here's this woman that had been trying to kill me since the day I was born and…I just thought to myself who in the blue hell do I think I am? I'm not some superhero or Lara Croft. I'm just a semi-average 18-year-old girl. I really wanted her to just end it. To end this pathetic excuse for a life…but then I thought my father wouldn't have wanted it that way. I'm not fighting for me…but for his honour. I just wanted the pain to go away." Natalie said. Gohan embraced her as she started to sob.

"Ssh, it'll be okay Nat. She can't hurt you anymore." Gohan said.

"I wish I had a childhood Gohan…why did she have to take that away from me?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know."

_I tried so hard and got so far_

_But in the end, it doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall to lose it all_

_But in the end it doesn't even matter…_

"Nat, I want to thank you. Even though we weren't really that close before…you are like family to me." Gohan smiled.

"Great…another brother to care for." Natalie laughed as Gohan laughed with her.

To Be Concluded…

Well now! Shock horror ne? I told you it was going to be sad! Well there's one part left peeps! Leave a review and tell me what you thought please. Thanks!


	7. When Life Gets Back To Normal, You're Le...

The Pain Behind The Mask pt7 Packard Bell NEC, Inc. Normal Packard Bell NEC, Inc. 7 40 2001-10-22T14:42:00Z 2001-11-06T18:04:00Z 5 1334 7605 Packard Bell NEC 63 15 9339 9.2720 

The Pain Behind The Mask pt7

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or it's characters. Just the ones I made up. I also do not own anything that I mention that isn't mine.

A/N: Last part people!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Later that night at Pizza Hut…_

"So what you're trying to tell me that our abuelo before last was an alien from a place called Tocopherat and they have super powers?!" Tony asked a little too loudly.

"Ssh!" Ricky hissed.

"I always thought you were weird Ton." Charlie laughed.

"Callaté!" Tony replied as the others laughed. Natalie and Gohan soon joined the group.

"We just came from the hospital." Gohan explained.

"Yup! Now I have a wicked cool scar across my belly!" Natalie beamed. The others, sans her brothers, sweat-dropped.

"So, get on with the story!" David urged.

"Ok, so everyone genuinely thought Summers here was evil. He didn't tell us he was going to do that so…" Ricky explained.

"So, I came back a couple of days ago and spoke to Nat and Rick explaining that I went undercover. So, Rick set me up with a blood-filled vest…" Nicholas explained.

"Eww!" Videl exclaimed.

"Fake blood! Anyhoo, Rick was supposed to come in, shoot me and arrest Hikari but Natalie changed everything at the last minute."

"So, you didn't know?" Andrea asked.

"No!" Nicholas replied. "I had to talk to Nat telepathically."

"Oh!" the others, who weren't in on the plan, said.

"I have to say Nicky. Evil becomes you." Natalie smirked. Nicholas blushed.

"I really wish you two would stop that! It's like non-stop!" Tony said. Natalie just stuck her tongue out. The table was silent for a while until Charlie spoke.

"You know sis, I'm really proud of you. To take all of that at such a young age…I owe you my life really." Charlie said.

"You don't owe me anything!" Natalie exclaimed. "It's what I do."

"Yeah, that and cook for us." Ricky and Tony exclaimed as Natalie whipped them upside the head.

"Tontos." Natalie said as everyone laughed.

_**Rick?**_

_**Yeah Nat?**_

_**Abuelo told me…about your powers. I just wanna say thanks, for being there for me bro**_

_**It's like you said…it's what I do**_

_Later that night…_

"Home, I haven't been here in a while." Gohan said as he went out back and sure enough there was his father lying on the grass outside. He lay down beside him. "Hey, tousan."

"Hey Gohan! How have you been?" Goku asked.

"Good."

"Oh really? So, that fight you got into tonight was nothing?" Goku asked. Gohan sweat-dropped big time.

"Good grief…"

"I would've come but I sensed that everything was fine. That friend of yours may not be powerful but she has a great fighting spirit."

"Tousan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you raise me to think the world was such a good place…when there are so many bad people living in it?" There was a long silence.

"When you were first born I wanted you to grow up to be a fighter. Your mother told me that the world was at peace and that no one needed fighters anymore. I suppose I really wanted to believe that. I had a gut feeling that we wouldn't be safe forever but I saw you so tiny and helpless lying in that crib…I just wanted to protect you from everything. Even the things that were going on in our own world. The world is a good place Gohan there are just some bad people living in it."

"But you always try to think the best of people Tousan!"

"Well if I didn't then I'd be checking my pants to see if my wallet was still there whenever I went to see Yamcha. Or I'd be looking over my shoulder every time I saw Tien or even Krillin. And I wouldn't have even let you get within 2 centimetres of Piccolo." Goku laughed. "Some people can change, but they can't change if they chose to be evil in the first place."

_**Wow, I never knew my dad was so wise…then again he's so smart in battle I should have really known, I guess he just chooses to live his life care-free.**_ Gohan thought as he and his father looked up at the starry night sky.

"Thanks dad." Gohan said.

It took a couple of months for things to get back to normal. Natalie's father was released from the hospital and her family tried to get over the huge shock revelation. Gohan and Natalie became a lot closer than they were before and so did Nicholas and Natalie, but in a different way of course. Hikari was convicted guilty of all her charges and was sent to a maximum-security women's prison and was sentenced for life. Gohan was walking past the local Satan city cemetery when he saw David, Nicholas, Videl and Natalie all standing at a grave paying their respects. He walked over to them.

"Hey guys." Gohan greeted. "Guess you beat me here, huh?"

"Yah…" They all said solemnly. He looked at the tombstone. It read **LINDSEY JOANNA CARTELLI. A GOOD FRIEND, SISTER AND DAUGHTER. MAY SHE REST IN PEACE.**

"It was 2 years ago today huh? That we knew…" Gohan asked. They all nodded.

"We just thought, we should you know?" David said.

"Yah…" Nicholas added.

_Later, back at the dorm…_

"It's nice to finally have things back to the way they were." Videl sighed contently.

"Yah, the next time things will get this hectic will be at your wedding!" Natalie laughed. Gohan suddenly went pale. "You still haven't told your parents, have you Son?"

"Son Gohan!" Videl yelled as she slapped him in the arm.

"Gomen nasai, Videl-chan! But you know what my mother is like! She'll start weeping and then try and plan the whole thing. Then you'll get in argument and the wedding will be called off. I've actually played this in my mind a few times…it's not pretty!" Gohan tried to explain.

"Stop being such a pessimist Gohan! That's never going to happen right guys?" Nicholas, the ever-peacemaker, said.

"Yeah!" David chirped in.

"It'll be just fine!" Andrea said.

"No. Actually what Gohan said sounds about right." Natalie smirked. "But at least it will be interesting!"

"NATALIE!" Everyone else, minus Gohan, yelled.

"I'm just kidding!" Natalie laughed. "You know guys, we've all grown so much over the years."

"Yeah." David agreed. "Remember when Gohan first started our school?"

"Oh yah! I remember that a certain person who shall remain nameless thought she was too good to hang out with us and started to hang with the popular kids Eliza and Sharpener." Nicholas smirked. Videl blushed.

"It wasn't my fault! It was a phase I was going through." Videl protested. "Besides, Eliza was really nice. Sharpener was a bonehead…but it's kind of a pity that they decided to go after careers instead of finishing school with us."

"What about Gohan? Dude, you were so hilarious! I heard what happened that day in P.E." David laughed.

"Hey! I had never been to public school before! What did you want me to do?" Gohan asked.

"Maybe try not to outburst when someone gets your superhero name wrong!" Natalie laughed as she collapsed to the floor. "Mwahahaha!" She got up and started to do the poses Gohan did as the Great Saiyaman. "Evil doers beware! The Great Saiyaman is here! Hehe."

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you. You had that big crush on Gohan, remember?" David smirked. Natalie suddenly stopped laughing.

"NANI?!" Nicholas and Videl exclaimed. Gohan just blushed. Natalie held up her hands in defence.

"Hey, what did you expect? I was a kid then. It's not my fault all the boys at our school didn't think with their heads and thought with their…"

"We know how the saying goes Natalie!" Nicholas and David exclaimed as the girls laughed.

"Yah well I guess you're right. After all, you used to have a crush on Sharpener too." David smirked again. Natalie face-faulted.

"FINCH!" She shrieked as the others laughed. She sighed. "Okay fine! I was boy-crazy when I was younger. But then again, I wouldn't be surprised with the company I kept. Dave, you were a regular skirt chaser. Videl was a risk-taking fighter and Nicholas was just a girl-crazy goon." Andrea and Gohan just laughed as the others fumed.

"I'm surprised I haven't gone crazy hanging out with you guys. You're such loonies." Andrea laughed.

"DOG PILE ON ANDIE!" The others yelled as they dove on top of her. They all started to laugh hysterically.

The End.

I know it wasn't much of an ending but…what are you gonna do? I'm afraid to say that this will be my last story about Gohan and his friends for quite sometime. I may do one where it's G/V's wedding…anyhoo, remember I mentioned Trunks and Goten going to a new school? Those are gonna be my next set of stories so if you liked this then you'll love that…hopefully.

_RANT TIME!!!_

**Eyes narrowed and scowling** How ever much I appreciate reviews and e-mails from people giving me advice and constructive criticism, I swear, if I see ONE SINGLE THING saying "Great story but Goku was too smart. He was ooc." I will go SSJ!!!!! 

Now I understand that Gohan got all the brains in the Son family BUT Goku isn't STUPID GUNDAMIT!! He's just naïve. He can be serious!! (e.g. Frieza fight, Cell fight, choosing not to be wished back, knowing that Gohan was stronger than him etc.) People hardly, almost, like 0.0001%, ever complain when Goku is written as a stupid imbecile but when he's given a little smarts WHICH HE HAS IN THE FREAKIN FIRST PLACE people go nuts. Ok, I've finished ranting.

Bye!!


	8. Character Bios

Character Bios

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the shows/films/characters/songs/bands etc that I mention. Only my own characters. 

A/N: I have had many requests asking me to do something like this since you people seem to like these characters. They're from the Gohan/Videl stories.

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Name: Nicholas Julian Summers

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 21st September

Hair colour: Dark brown

Eye colour: Emerald

Ethnicity: Japanese

Height: 6ft1

Special Ability: Self-multiplication

Family: Serena Summers (Mother), Takeshi Summers (Father)

Marriage Status: Dating Natalie

Favourite TV show(s): Seinfeld, That 70s Show

Favourite Movie(s): Any basic horror film, Jay and Silent Bob films. Toy Story 2

Favourite Bands/Artist: Creed, Sum 41, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit.

Favourite Foods: Pizza, Mac & Cheese, any kind of junk food.

Hobbies: Playing guitar.

Nicknames: Nick, Nicky, Xander.

Best Friend: Gohan

Short bio: Nicholas is very much like Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is a wisecracking, smart alec who cares very much about the people around him. He never hesitates to pull a prank and is very fond of Natalie, who he has known since he was four years old. Even though he is an only child, he doesn't have the brat-ness that Videl and Andrea posses. He has a geeky status in High School he could very much compete with the jocks in looks and athletic skills. In fact, during Junior High, Videl had a very big crush on him.

Quote: "With the skills I got, I should be arrested."

Name: Natalia Consuela Maria Campbell

Gender: Female

Date of Birth: 20th June

Hair colour: Reddish-brown

Eye colour: Cerulean

Ethnicity: Japanese/Spanish

Height: 5ft4

Special Ability: Telepathy/Forewarnings

Family: Frederico Campbell (Father), Ricardo Campbell (Brother), Antonio Campbell (Brother), Carlos Campbell (Brother), Hikari Campbell (Mother).

Marriage Status: Dating Nicholas

Favourite TV show(s): Gundam Wing, BtVS, Slayers.

Favourite Movie(s): The Emperor's New Groove, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring, all Lethal Weapon films.

Favourite Bands/Artist: Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, Craig David.

Favourite Foods: Paella, chilli con carne, Tandoori Chicken.

Hobbies: Playing piano, soccer

Nicknames: Nat, Lil Natty.

Best Friend: David

Short bio: Natalie is a very loud and opinionated person. She hates anyone who thinks themselves better than everyone. Although when you get to know her she is a very loving person and will protect her friends and family till the end. Coming from a big family of boys she's not in the least bit boyish but she does have some violent tendencies (constantly trying out wrestling moves). She never talks about her mother since her parents are divorced. Her mother's part in her past is in the dark, as no one knows why she hates her so much. She loves to go around quoting her favourite TV characters and she has a fascination with Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing.

Quote: (Quotes taken from various shows)

Name: David Nathan Finch

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 13th October 

Hair colour: Blonde

Eye colour: Green

Ethnicity: Japanese/English

Height: 6ft

Special Ability: Super Speed

Family: Donavon Finch (Father), Dorothy Finch (Mother), Paul Finch (Brother).

Marriage Status: Dating Andrea

Favourite TV show(s): BtVS, WWF.

Favourite Movie(s): Star Wars Trilogy

Favourite Bands/Artist: The Monkees, Limp Bizkit, P Diddy.

Favourite Foods: Lasagne

Hobbies: Annoying Nicholas

Nicknames: Finch, Davey, Brock, Hugh Heffner.

Best Friend: Natalie.

Short bio: David is an easygoing guy with a good sense of humour but not as hysterical as Nicholas. With average intelligence, people are surprised when David comes out with wise quotes and sayings of his own. He does have a major flaw, he's a bit of a skirt chaser, and constantly falling in love with every girl he sees hence the nickname Brock. He does settle down when he meets the girl of his dreams: Andrea. He sees Natalie as his younger sister and feels the need to protect her. As Nicholas has demonstrated, he's always good for a tease.

Quote: "What?! I have my moments!"

Name: Lindsey Cartelli (Deceased)

Gender: Female

Date of birth: 15th November

Hair colour: Blonde

Eye colour: Green

Ethnicity: Japanese/Italian

Height: 5ft8

Special Ability: None

Family: Gianni Cartelli (Father), Hanako Cartelli (Mother)

Marriage Status: None

Favourite TV show(s): BtVS, Angel, Popular, Malcolm In The Middle.

Favourite Movie(s): Titanic

Favourite Bands/Artist: *N Sync

Favourite Foods: Pasta, Rice, Pizza.

Hobbies: Surfing the Net

Nicknames: Linny, Lin, LC

Best Friend: Nicholas

Short bio: Lindsey was the most reserved of the gang. She wasn't boy-crazy like Natalie but still liked the Jocks of the school. She was often considered the weird one since she spurted out weirder comments than David. She was a very sweet, caring person but lacked self-confidence. She was killed when an alien took over her body. She couldn't be brought back with the D-Balls.

Quote: "Ahh, he's way out of my league."

Name: Andrea Takenouchi

Gender: Female

Date of birth: 23rd April

Hair colour: Chestnut

Eye colour: Amethyst

Ethnicity: Japanese

Height: 5tf9 

Special Ability: Telekinesis

Family: Satoshi Takenouchi (Father), Kasumi Takenouchi (Mother).

Marriage Status: Dating David

Favourite TV show(s): Felicity, Dawson's Creek, Ally McBeal

Favourite Movie(s): Pretty Woman

Favourite Bands/Artist: Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, all divas.

Favourite Foods: Tofu burgers, salad, spinach. 

Hobbies: Soccer

Nicknames: Andie, Andie McBeal

Best Friend: Videl

Short bio: Andrea is the newest member of the group. She is the most beautiful of the three girls but never shows off. She previously lived in Tokyo so she still has that city girl attitude. She's sometimes a bit bratty since she's an only child. She's very level headed as shown when she first discovers her powers but has a mean streak. She is definitely the most mature of the group which helps a lot when they go out of their minds ^_^()

Quote: "It becomes you."

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Well there you go guys! If you have any request of other characters I have written about then just tell me in the review.

P.S. Look out for a fic about Gohan and Videl's wedding! Coming soon!


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